From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Matthew 4:17)
When God saved you and brought you into relationship with Him, He gave you a new address. I am not talking about your physical address, whether that might be in the city or the suburbs . . . whether you live in an apartment or a home; rather, I am talking about the “already” and the “not yet” of the Kingdom of God. When Jesus came into this world, He lived a sinless life, died a sacrificial death, and rose supernaturally from the grave. All of this was done to redeem us from sin, Satan, and death, and to make it possible for us to live in Him and with Him forever. His Kingdom has truly come — Jesus said that “The kingdom of God ha come upon you” (Luke 11:20) — but it has not yet come in all its fullness. In other words, the Kingdom is already here, but it is not yet fully realized in our lives.
All of this means that sin has not yet been fully eradicated from our lives, and we have not yet become all that God’s grace is designed to make us. To be sure, sin no longer reigns in the lives of those who are disciples of Jesus. But make no mistake, it still remains and it will wreak havoc in our lives if we let it. We wake each morning in the crosshairs of the world, the flesh, and the devil. It is a war that’s fought on the battlefield of the heart. Sometimes our heart beats strongly for Jesus, and at other times it does not. It is a war of faith against fear . . . trust against temptation . . . dependence against deliverance.
And that is why we must remember our address. We are already in the Kingdom of God, but the Kingdom has not yet been fully consummated. We are already fully saved, but God must continue saving us from ourselves — not just daily, but moment by moment. We are already children of the Most-High God, but we will not fully know what that means experientially until we are in glory. The Kingdom has indeed come and will continue coming, either until Jesus returns or brings us home. Until that day, we must remember our address as we fight the good fight of faith with the weapons of spiritual warfare, knowing that He who began a good work will bring it to completion one day soon.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 